Boyd Wheeler Bartlett (1897–1965) was an American military officer, professor, school administrator, and physicist.

Early life and education

Boyd Bartlett was born in Castine, Maine on June 20, 1897. He graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

in 1917. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1919 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. With the reductions in the military ranks in progress in the years following World War I, many officers resigned their commissions during those years, as did Bartlett in 1922. He was granted a doctorate from Columbia University in 1933. He did postgraduate studies and research with

Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...

at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

from 1934 to 1935. While in Munich, he co-authored two papers with Sommerfeld on theoretical electromagnetism.West Point
– Brig. Gen. Boyd Wheeler BartlettCitation
– Honorary Degree, 1949, Boyd Wheeler Bartlett
– American Philosophical Society

Career

After Bartlett returned from Europe, he began a teaching career in physics at Bowdoin College as professor of physics. When World War II started, he was called up as a colonel and assigned to the United States Military Academy. The head of the physics department there, Gerald Counts, was reassigned to Europe, and Bartlett stepped in as acting head of the department. When Counts returned after the war, Bartlett served as deputy head of the department, later, through a number of reorganizations and departmental name changes, he became head of the department of electricity, predecessor to the department of electrical engineering. He retained this position until his retirement and promotion to brigadier general in 1958.

Later life and legacy

Bartlett died in Castine, Maine on June 24, 1965, and was buried at Castine Cemetery. Since 1952 at the U. S. Military Academy, an award for excellence in electrical engineering has been a tradition. In 1981, it was named the Brigadier General Boyd Wheeler Bartlett, USA Honor Award.AFCEA
- Brig. Gen. Boyd Wheeler Bartlett, USA, Honor Award

Honors

*The United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

– For "exceptional foresight and success in instituting a course in atomic physics during the war" and outstanding leadership.

Selected literature

*B. W. Bartlett ''Variation of the Principal Magnetic Susceptibilities of Certain Paramagnetic Crystals with Temperature'', ''Phys. Rev.'' 41 (6) 818 - 832 (1932). Bowdoin College and Columbia University. Received 19 July 1932. *Arnold Sommerfeld and B. W. Bartlett ''Über die longitudinale Widerstandsänderung im Magnetfelde nach der elementaren Theorie'', ''Physikalische Zeitschrift'' 36 894-899 (1935)As cited i
Arnold Sommerfeld Bibliography
– Sommerfeld Project *Arnold Sommerfeld and B. W. Bartlett ''Über die longitudinale Widerstandsänderung im Magnetfelde nach der elementaren Theorie'', ''Zeitschrift für technische Physik'' 16 500 (1935) *B. W. Bartlett ''Coefficients of Friction Greater than Unity'', ''American Journal of Physics'' 12 (2) 48 (1944). United States Military Academy, West Point, on leave of absence from Bowdoin College. *B. W. Bartlett ''Physics at the United States Military Academy'', ''American Journal of Physics'' 12 (4) 78-91 (1944). United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, on leave of absence from Bowdoin College. *B. W. Bartlett ''Coefficients of Friction Greater than Unity'', ''American Journal of Physics'' 12 (2) 48 (1944). Colonel, U. S. Army, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, on leave of absence from Bowdoin College. *B. W. Bartlett, P. M. Honnell, and F. H Mitchell ''Mass Production in the Elementary Electronics Laboratory'', ''American Journal of Physics'' 16 (4) 224-230 (1948). Bartlett: United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, on leave of absence from

. Honnell: At publication at Washington University in St. Louis. Mitchell: At publication at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Boyd 1897 births Bowdoin College alumni Columbia University alumni 20th-century American physicists 1965 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Military Academy alumni American expatriates in Germany American military personnel of World War II Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni